At the Ocean's Edge
by SparkOfRuby
Summary: Lukas is having trouble moving past his brother's accident, and it's starting to keep him awake at night. [Implied/Referenced character death]


I'm back with the first new fic of 2018! I had an idea after reading a different fic called 'Nuances of Blue' and decided to finally write it out. I want to start doing more drabbles this year, hopefully I can improve my writing more. Anyways, on to the fic!

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He was standing alone on the dock's edge, watching as the waves crashed into the sand on the shore leaving dips where they repeatedly hit. Lukas sat down, hearing the wooden planks groan underneath his weight. Without thinking, he kicked his shoes off into the water. He watched as they sunk further down into the water, finally disappearing from his sight. Even though he wasn't far off from the beach, he couldn't see the bottom of the ocean from where he sat.

Looking around at the beach, he could see gulls hopping around the ground, looking for insects and washed up fish to eat. Everything else was empty; there weren't any people or umbrellas or blankets like there usually were. He was happy with this though, the calmness of being alone was nice. Lukas closed his eyes and let the sun warm his face; He lazily kicked at the surface of the water, listening to the loud echoing of droplets falling back into the water.

When he opened his eyes again the sun was still shining brightly above him, but a cloud of mist hung around his ankles. He didn't find this strange and instead went back to watching the waves move. They rose above the grey cloud, making them look like rolling clouds. A cool breeze blew saltwater into his face, making him shiver. The water rose high above the surface, creating huge shadows that reached out before they crashed into them with a roar.

More and more water splashed into his mouth and into his eyes, rolling down Lukas' face and soaking his shirt. He didn't stand up though. Lukas wasn't sure what was holding him to that spot, but his legs felt heavy and were stuck swinging back and forth, back and forth. The peacefulness was replaced an uneasy feeling that started in his stomach and reached up into the back of his throat. The birds were calling out to each other louder. He could almost make out what they were saying.

It sounded like they were crowding around him, all calling out the same word. Lukas looked around him, but there weren't any birds. There wasn't anything but the cloud of mist and the very edge of the dock. All of the sand had disappeared leaving only the grey and the waves that kept on rising and falling. He tried to focus on the bird's calls if there even were any around. Scrunching his eyes tightly closed, he tried to make out what they were saying.

Slowly he started to figure it out, sound by sound until he heard them calling out his name, over and over. His eyes shot open and he saw the face of his younger brother Emil above the clouds of mist. Waving his hand, he called out to Emil, trying to get him to swim over to the shore. When his brother didn't move he began to yell louder, frantically moving his arms through the air. Something in the corner of his eye began to grow dark, and looking over there Lukas saw a huge dark blue wave looming over where Emil was swimming.

Lukas screamed his brother's name now, trying to force his legs to cooperate with him. He watched as the wave grew taller and taller, reaching out for the sky, Emil seemingly oblivious. Lukas was trying to push himself into the water, but his legs kept on swinging the same way they had been. He tried to call out again, but he couldn't hear his own voice. No matter how loud he tried to be, nothing came out. The water suddenly fell down, Lukas helplessly watching as it crashed back into the ocean and over Emil's head.

He pushed off one more time and Lukas felt himself slip off of the planks and into the freezing water below. His muscles seized up and he sharply inhaled, the unexpected cold washing over him. Water filled his lungs, weighing him down even more. Lukas looked up and saw streaks of sunlight bouncing off of the ocean's surface becoming smaller as he sunk down further. He felt like he was drowning, but he kept on sinking lower, fully awake. He couldn't move his legs, or his arms, or his head; Lukas was only able to look around with his eyes.

There was nothing under the water. It was a far stretch of blues and blacks that didn't seem to have any end or difference. Without warning he was jolted to the side, his body hitting what felt to be a solid object. Again, he was thrown to the other side, a warm feeling spreading across his skin. Though he was submerged, Lukas felt water running down his back and wet cloth sticking to his body.

There was a flash of white and he was sitting frozen in a pile of grey and blue blankets hanging off the edge of the bed. A startled blonde man drew back and clicked on the lamp beside Lukas' bed. He placed his hand on the boy's back, pulling him closer. Lukas sat there catching his breath for a few minutes before leaning into his father. Tino had woken him up and was now trying to comfort Lukas as he buried his face in Tino's shirt.

This was the fourth night in a row he'd woken up in a cold sweat after having the same dream. He could hear his father saying something to him, but he couldn't make out the words. Instead, he just nodded and watched as he walked out of the bedroom, turning on the hallway light as he went. Lukas got out of bed and threw the blankets in a heap off the floor before slowly making his way out of the room.

He could see the small light left on in the bathroom and the yellow glow of his father's desk lamp shining through the crack of the barely-open door. The only two doors that remained shut where the closet and the back bedroom at the end of the hall. Before turning to go downstairs, Lukas cast a glance at the closed bedroom. Hearing the kitchen sink being turned on, he grabbed the knob and slowly pushed it open.

The room was dark and still, clothes were thrown all over the floor. It was kind of a neat mess, items crammed in groups on the shelf and the work desk piled high with notebooks. A brown, dead plant sat on the windowsill, neglected. The light from the hall showed layers of dust gathering inside, clouds drifting through the air. Despite this, Emil's room still looked the same, even after a month and a half. Lukas started to walk inside but stopped with one foot across the threshold.

He decided it would be better just to leave it and meet Tino downstairs in the living room. He looked around the room again before closing the door and heading down to see what his father was doing. Tino was sitting at the kitchen table on his phone and two mugs set out in front of him. A kettle was boiling on the stove, steam spilling out from a chip in the top lid. Lukas sat down at the table and watched the water boil as Tino started to talk to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

Lukas was blocking most of it out, and eventually, Tino must've noticed because soon he stopped. The two sat in silence together until the shrieking whistle of the kettle snapped Lukas out of his thoughts and prompted him to turn off the stove. A box of tea was already set out on the counter for them. The clock on the oven read 1:27 AM, and looking outside Lukas could see it was still pitch black out.

He poured his drink and went out to sit on the couch, turning on the TV and flipping through different infomercials until he found a channel airing late night TV shows. He wasn't sure when he drifted off, but next thing he knew he was rubbing the sleep from his eyes as sunlight poured in through the windows. A blanket was thrown over him, Tino must've brought it downstairs before he went back to sleep.

Groggy, Lukas made his way to the kitchen and started to make himself a pot of coffee. He was slow and tired, probably because of what happened last night. He didn't want to face his father when he woke up, so while the coffee was brewing, Lukas opened the sliding glass doors on the other side of the room and stood on the old wooden porch overlooking the backyard. He kept replaying the same scenes from last night's dream over and over. Once again, he lost track of time was startled by the sound of knocks on the other side of the glass.

Tino was standing there with a full coffee pot before turning away and setting it on one of the counters. Lukas pulled himself up and went inside, gently sliding the doors back into place

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Thank you guys for reading, commenting, etc., it means a lot and I hope you liked it!


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